Means for exhausting inclosed receivers.



M. VON RECKLINGHAUSEN; MEANS FOBEXHAUSTING INGLosED BBGBIVEBS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1904.

UNITED sTATns` PATENT OFFICE.

MAX VON RECKLINGHUSEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIG-NOR TO COOPER HEWITTELECTRIC COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A`CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

4MEANS. Fon EXHAUSTING INcLosED RCEIVERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 11, 1910.

Application led July 30, 1904. Seiial No. 218,831.

To all Awhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAx voN REGELING.-A UAUSEN, a subject'of the Emperorof Germany, and resident of New York, county of New York, State 0f NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means forExhausting Inclosed Receivers, of which the following is aspecification.

It has been found advantageous in exhausting containers of mercury vaporapparatus, whether designed for use as lamps or as vapor converters, tomake use of magnesium. for absorbing some of the 4gases which remainafter a certain degree of exhaustion by pumping has been attained. Adiiiculty with the employment of magnesium for this purpose resides,however, in the fact that whereasvthe containing vessels for most of themercury vapor apparatus are of glass, vret the magnesium in its activestate attacks glass and, therefore, is less adapted for use in assistingthe exhaustion than'it would otherwise be. There are, however, ways inwhich (he magnesium, particularly when made active through the action ofheat," can be prevented from attacking the glass, and, of course, theinjurious effects of the magnesium for the purposeI indicated can beavoided, and: excellent results obtained, by using a container which isnot made of glass but of some metal such as iron.

My invention contemplates the use of magnesium or othernetal' forabsorbing air or other purposes and the safeguarding of the same fromthe chances of doing injury, either by so mounting the magnesium orother metal in a glass container as to prevent its coming in' contactwhen in a heated state with the material of the container, or byconstructing the container wholly of some metal such as iron or somecomposition of metals not attackable b v the heated magnesium or othermetal.

In the drawings Figure l shows a mercury vapor converter in elevation;and Fig. 2 shows a section of a portion of the mercury vapor apparatusillustrating in perspective certain details of the apparatus common tothe structure of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a mercury vapor converter comprising acontainer, 1,

.positive electrodes, 2 and 3, and a negative electrode, 4, of mercury.For convenience I will specify magnesium as'the metal to be employed forabsorbing air.

Inside the container 1 I mount, somewhat in the manner indicated, aplate or support, 5, of magnesia having a depression, G, at its topplaced. With the terminals of the strip 7, I connect metallic wires orbrackets 8, 9, provided with portions 10, l0, which extend under theplate 5 and support it in position.

The brackets 8 and 9 are connected with the lead-wires, 11, ll, whichpass through the walls of the container 1 and are connected with thecircuit wires leading to an electric generator, 13.

When used for the purpose indicated above, the' apparatus is exhaustedin the usual way. 'VVhen, however, the exhaustion has been carried to a.sutliciently high degree, the container may be sealed oit and thegenerator 13 started into operation. Thereupon the strip '7 of magnesiumwill be heated or melted and in that state it will absorb the injuriousnitrogen and oxygen remaining in the container, thus completingtheexhaustion of the apparatus.

W hen it is desired to employ 'magnesium in order to secure a veryhighdegree of exhaustion and without any danger of injury to the container,the latter may be made entirely of some metal or association of metalssuch as will not be attacked by magnesium in its active state. A metalsuited for the purpose is iron.

I claim as my invention 1. .The combination with a closed container, ofa holder within the container, magnesium within the holder, and a sourceof electric current connected with the opposite lends of the magnesiumwhereby the same may be rendered active for absorbing injurious gases inthe container. j

2. The combination with a closed container, of an insulating holderinside the container, magnesium in the holder, and a source of electriccurrent connected with the magnesium at points o different. potential.

in which a portion, 7, of magnesium is 3. The eombination with a closedcon. Signed at New York, inl the county of tainer, of an nsulatin vesselinsicie the con- New York, and State vof N'ew York, this tainer adaptedto hol a conductlng llquid 22nd da of Jul A. D. 1904.

and a material in said vessel adaptedto re- MA VO REQKLINGHAUSEN. 5 movegases -from the container, together Witnesses:- Y i with means forheating and melting said WM. H. CAPEL,

material. GEoRG H. STOCKBRIDGE.

